


Loops of Time

by evergreenstringbean



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: All other ships are eventual, Emile as Mae, Established Remile, Gen, Janus as Miles, Logan as Hugo, M/M, Modern version of Tuck Everlasting, Mostly based on the musical, Remus and Patton are extras that I wanted okay, Remy as Angus, Roman as Jesse, Tuck Everlasting AU, Unrequited Love, Virgil as Winnie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:40:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25789729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evergreenstringbean/pseuds/evergreenstringbean
Summary: Seventeen year old Virgil Foster is tired of being sheltered for his entire life. As his older brother, Patton, assumes the role of their late father, the pressure to grow up and leave behind any inkling of fun begins to weigh on him.It just so happens that the day he decides to run away is the day the Tucks are reunited again.{ AKA A Tuck Everlasting AU nobody asked for }
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Dr. Emile Picani/Sleep | Remy Sanders
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Loops of Time

All of Virgil Foster’s life, he had been forced to stay on the inside of the gates. As a child, it made no sense to him. The woods that wrapped around the house was just asking to be explored, but his mother and father both gave the same answers each time. 

“The woods are dangerous. Now, come away from the gate, Virgil.”

Thankfully, he was not left completely bored in his childhood. He did have his older brother, Patton, who did his best to come up with fun games and means of entertainment for his younger sibling. They filled afternoons running through the halls of the manor, playing hiding and seek in the countless rooms on both floors and coming up with stories where they could explore in their head since outdoors was out of the question.

Then, when Virgil turned sixteen, Patton left for university. He tried to play the games he and Patton had created by himself, but it either didn’t work or he immediately grew bored without Patton there. Besides, games were for kids, and as Virgil was being reminded by his parents, he wasn’t a young child anymore.

So he took his classes with the tutor, went to formal functions and played the role he was forced to play, his curiosity beyond the iron fence just bubbling under the surface.

It was the end of the summer when his father didn’t return home from a business meeting upstate.

Nobody would give him the full details, something along the lines of a car accident and a doctor who did everything he could. Virgil didn’t leave his room until the funeral, and he honestly didn’t even want to go to that, but Patton would be coming home and meeting them there, so he went for the sake of seeing his brother for the first time in over a year.

Patton looked different. Older, more mature compared to the happy-go-lucky boy Virgil remembered playing hide and seek with.

They barely spoke for the duration of the funeral, and upon returning home Patton asked him to go to his room so he and his mother could discuss business affairs.

Virgil didn’t like this different version of Patton. He missed the one who’d refuse to stop trying to get him to laugh, who’d come up with dozens of activities to cure the boredom of never leaving the house. His brother. 

Now, as Patton sat with their mother among stacks of papers, he just looked to Virgil like a younger photocopy of their father. 

_**~*~** _

Remy and Emile Picani were ecstatic. 

Well, Emile was ecstatic. Remy was still sound asleep, his gentle snores providing the only sound in the room aside from the gentle ticking of the clock on the wall. The cottage was worn down, occasionally falling apart, but all the spare time allowed them to get things back to tip top shape whenever it was required. However, the one thing not yet fixed was the creaky floorboards. Every step taken was a deep noise echoed through the house. Usually, Emile did his best to avoid the particularly loud creaks, but today he was simply too excited to do so, waking Remy up with a start as he shuffled about the cottage.

“H- What?” Remy groaned, sitting up in the bed and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Mila, what are you doing?”

“The boys are coming home today!”

“…Right,” he answered, laying back down and throwing the blanket over himself. “They should be here by midday.”

Emile huffed. “I can’t wait that long! I’ll meet them in town and walk back with them!” He smiled and pulled the blanket back away from his husband. “You could come with me, you know. You haven’t seen your sons in ten years!”

“What’s another few hours? We’ve got the time.”

The way that Remy’s sassy humor and witty remarks had diminished over the years had disheartened Emile. Life no longer excited Remy, unlike his partner who took every day as a grand adventure. He wasn’t ready to be bored with life, no matter how long said life had been. “Well I’m going. You’re welcome to join if you’d like-”

The snoring that followed made Emile shake his head, grabbing his satchel and pulling out his music box. He slowly made his way out of the cottage and in the direction of town, turning the handle of the music box the whole way.

Janus hated it here.

As the train approached the station, he felt in the core of his being that he didn’t belong there. Too many memories, bad memories, were branched through this awful little town and were the root cause of his family’s situation. But he’d made a promise, and besides, he’d missed his family in the last decade, as weird and dysfunctional as his family seemed to be. As he stepped off the train with his luggage, he wondered how much further behind his brothers were.

Roman was over the moon to be returning to Treegap.

His view over the town from the height of the water tower was breathtaking to him, if such a thing were possible. He wondered as he looked at the skyline ahead if there was anyone there that still recognized him. Part of him hoped so, but the more understanding part knew it was best if not. 

“I knew you’d be up here!”

The voice had Roman turning his head back to the ladder, seeing his twin climbing up to join him. He smiled and quickly scooted over to bring him into a hug, happy to see his brother after all the time apart. “Of course I’d be here. Look at this sunrise!”

“Looks like blood,” Remus answered flatly, making his twin shudder a little. “Anyway, Emile’s probably gonna meet us in town. I’m sure if we’re late Jan will start going off on a lecture about us being irresponsible. Wanna skip that?”

Roman laughed, taking one last look at the sky before following back to the ladder. “Yes please.”

Remus was only happy to be back in Treegap to see his family. The ones who understood his odd behavior and never ran away or chastised him for the things that happened to cross his mind. Over the years he’d quickly discovered that the things he quite often thought about were not normal. Growing up in such a conservative time didn’t help things either. But he knew now he would be returning to a world where things seemed normal, if only for a few days until another few years passed and he’d be back with the family that stayed closer to understanding than disturbed.

**_~*~_ **

“Why are adults so boring?”

He didn’t expect an answer unless it was simply a croak. The toad next to him stared directly into his soul, barely moving and almost coming to a mutual understanding with Virgil that they would not be moving from the somewhat tall grass in the front yard, mere feet away from the gate. But at this point, even if he was allowed outside of the fence, he’d be too scared to do so. As a child the woods had seemed interesting and a speculation of back-to-back adventures for him and his brother. But with all the scare tactics set in place by his parents and the staff at the manor, he’d grown more and more anxious of what existed just beyond the tree line. 

Virgil wanted to go inside. The sun beating down on him was making him too warm and he was sure his mother would scold him the second he walked back in for sitting in the dirt in his nice trousers. But his mother and Patton were still getting his father’s affairs in order, and watching his older brother so prim and proper made his skin crawl. It made him wonder if the fun loving boy who’d come up with endless games had died when their father had.

“Excuse me, young man. Might I ask you a few questions?”

He picked his head up from his staring contest with the toad to see a man on the other side of the gate, dressed in a brightly unflattering yellow suit. Virgil hesitated for a moment before slowly walking up to the speak with him. “It depends on the matter,” he replied, trying to sound as respectable as his family name demanded.

“Have you noticed any sort of strange activity coming from the woods? Perhaps the sound of a music box?”

Virgil looked at the man like he’s asked the most ridiculous question on Earth, but as he was about to respond he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“May I help you sir?” Patton asked, gently pushing Virgil back from the gate which had him letting out a frustrated sigh.

The man straightened up a bit, dismayed that the other was unable to provide help. “Yes, I’m looking for a family around here. A pair of twins in particular. The Tucks?”

Patton thought for a moment before shaking his head. “I’m sorry, I’m afraid I’ve never heard that name before.”

“Not surprising. The tend to remain elusive…if you hear of their whereabouts, would you mind giving this number a call?” The man handed him a card, and before Patton could answer, he had already turned and began to walk away, humming a tune Virgil didn’t recognize.

“You know better than to talk to strangers,” Patton said, finally addressing Virgil once the man was no longer within earshot. “Mother wants you to come inside. You have a lesson in twenty minutes.

Virgil huffed and crossed his arms as his brother turned to head back to the house. “Yes father,” he grumbled in annoyance, watching as Patton froze and turned back to him. 

“I grew up, Virgil. I had to. Mother thinks it’s about time you do the same…and so do I.” Patton whispered that last part, but Virgil heard it clear as day. However, his brother sighed and turned away once more despite his eyes clearly wanting to apologize. “Come inside.”

Though he knew that he had to go in, Virgil waited until Patton left to direct his attention back to the toad on the ground. His only friend. “Why can’t he just be my brother again? He’s trying so hard to be like Father and it’s driving me crazy!”

The toad offered no consolation. It merely croaked and turned away, hopping through the bars of the fence and making its way to the woods ahead. It was at that point that Virgil had an idea. A completely reckless and terrifying idea, but one he knew he had to make now or never come to again. 

So, with a deep breath, he unlocked the gate, opened it, and stepped through, not even bothering to look back or close the gate behind him as he took off past the tree line.

**Author's Note:**

> @alruistic-skittles on tumblr got me hyped to finish the first chapter so here it is heck yes
> 
> Come yell at me on Tumblr/Instagram (@evergreenstringbean) or Twitter (@everstringbean)


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